Common Bonds
by beamz
Summary: Luffy finds something in common he has with his Navigator. He begins to comprehend just a little more about her, and makes a decision for the both of them. LuNa


**So I'm still kind of new into the One Piece fics, and naw, I doubt this is my best. But it was late and I felt like writing SOMETHING lol. Ever had that feeling? R&R please!**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was another countless battle on another foreign land for the Straw Hat Pirates.

Nami, Sanji, Zoro, Robin, Usopp, and Chopper were fighting the boss's henchmen while Luffy ran off to take care of the leader himself. The leader was a large, pushy man with a short temper at that. The crew's orders were to simply keep the henchmen from getting in the way. It was easier said than done, unfortunately, as the Straw Hats began to fall one by one.

Zoro was the last to fall before Nami found herself quite alone on the battlefield. She was surrounded, and taken aback at how fast her comrades had fallen. She stepped back slightly, worried.

_Shit, what am I going to do now? _She felt herself shaking slightly as she thought. She got more nervous as she eyed the man in front of her. She swallowed hard, and breathed faster as she realized there was nothing she could do.

She looked down to her hands. They'd managed to get her out of trouble before, why not now? Her hands made fists as she grew more aggravated with herself. Why is it she always remained alone? She felt she knew the answer to that question, and felt sickened with herself at the answer she found.

She was alone because she made it that way. _She_ was all she relied on.

-Over to Luffy-

Luffy wiped the concentration of sweat from his forehead as he looked the other man over, his raven locks moving slightly. He breathed heavy from the fight, but stood tall from the victory. This adversary was no doubt one of the toughest he had ever faced, and it was only with a few lucky shots that he had come to be victorious.

His body heaved and rocked forward and backward as he breathed, sighing out of relief. He hoped his crew had fared well, but almost hoped they'd come after defeating the henchmen. Where were they now? Surely still not in battle…

Had he underestimated the other men? He grew tense as he imagined the consequences his crew would suffer for his carelessness. It wasn't like them to take this long on any enemy. He glared in aggravation, clenching his fists and ran to where his loyal crew lay. Hopefully they could hold out until he got there, they all had the willpower to survive, but when it came to strength…

-Back to the crew-

Nami fell to her knees before the henchman. She held herself by crossing her arms and looked up in fear. The henchmen looked down on her menacingly, and grinned.

"What you think we should do with'er?" One asked.

"I think we should take her. She looks _real _nice inn'er little outfit." Another answered.

One man reached forward and aggressively grabbed Nami's chin, stroking it with rough, dirty hands. "So pretty…." He trailed off in a deep, sinister voice.

Nami trembled a little under his grasp, and swallowed hard. She felt like her whole body was shaking.

She felt a finger stroke her face once more, and then the whole hand start to slowly move downward toward her shirt. Her eyes grew wide, and she stiffened.

_How dare he…_ she thought inwardly. Her soul screamed to rebel, but he body refused to comply. She was trapped, once again, by her fear.

It was then that He arrived.

She swore the ground shook when he entered. She felt his prescence- the light, feathery-calm sereneness of his existence filled the atmosphere, tinted with anger and hate. He would be pissed that his crew was beaten.

His eyes were shielded from under the trademark hat. Luffy didn't move at first, simply taking in the looks of his battered crew. He saw every one beaten into submission.

All except Nami, who sat on the ground, bruised, cut up, and shaking. He could feel her fear from where he stood.

At the sight of Luffy the henchman near Nami tightened his grasp on her and lifted her up in the air. He put his large arm around her waist threateningly. He glared at Luffy and tightened his arm around Nami's waist, slightly bruising her. Nami whimpered and looked at Luffy from where he stood.

_Help me…._ Her eyes pleaded to the young man. She was going to be taken- she was so sure of it! She couldn't let that happen- she did not want to leave. She was, if anything, content within the straw hats. She cried silently, as a tear rolled softly down her face.

"Unhand her." Luffy hissed.

The henchman holding Nami jumped slightly in surprise, then regained his composure as he stood up straight. He snickered, "Heh, and give a prize like this up to you? Yeah right."

Luffy took a step forward, clenching his fists. "Prize?" His teeth clasped together in anger.

"I SAID LET HER GO!" He screamed, the wind itself braking at his words. In the next moment Luffy's arm was outstretched and impacting the henchmans jaw with impeccable force. The man flew back, but still holding onto Nami, threw her in a different direction. She screamed as she flew through the air and right into a rocky area. Her head hit the rock and she fell, unconscious.

Luffy began to unleash all hell on all of the henchmen, throwing punches left, right, and dead center.

By now, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, and Robin were coming to. They immediately realized their Captain was fighting for their sake and joined in whenever they could. It was with great ease that the crew of Straw Hats defeated the henchmen.

Luffy nearly fell over in exhaustion after the fight. He had multiple gouges all over his body, his knees felt weak and were bound to give in to his weight at any moment. Soft, driplets of blood fell from a slice on his cheek. He touched it lightly, _These wounds are no great matter._

His crew was also tired. They noticed Nami's limp form on the ground, and all gave worried glances hoping for the best. Sanji especially felt his heart sink as he looked upon her limp form, and found himself slowly walking towards her. He looked down upon her, worried, and reached out to grab her.

"Don't touch her." This was something he had to think through.

Sanji stopped his hand and looked back towards Luffy.

"What's wrong?" He asked the Captain, concerned.

The crew watched as Luffy practically limped forward, taking slow, unsteady steps toward his navigator. When he reached her, he knelt down with much difficulty, and gingerly put his hand to her face. She was breathing softly, and he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Sighing in relief, he took off his straw hat and placed it on Nami's head softly. Without a word, he picked her up with both arms, letting her head lean gently on his chest, and he began to walk slowly to the ship.

He finally registered how weak she was in comparison to the other members of the crew. She had no special abilities except for Navigating. He looked down on her sleeping form, and wondered for a moment.

"_No…" _She has more than just navigation skills, he knew this. She was brave- perhaps more than the rest of them. She had less of a chance of walking out alive than all the others. And yet she still fought for him, for all of them. Despite having no-one to protect her, she keeps moving on to survive, and it was now he realized how lonely a life it must be, to be self-reliant since childhood. It reminded him of himself, now that he thought about it.

_She's like me… at least just a little… _he thought. It was then he decided. He made a choice- that the two of them would walk the same path side by side. And if not, he'd carry her, like now.

Self-reliant or not-

"_I'll protect you, Nami." _He whispered to the girl, inching over her face and looking into her closed eyes. And ever so slightly, he tightened his hold on her as she slept.


End file.
